Race pre-ride

This May 6, 2007 is the 2nd running of the Men's Health All Terrain Race, so race director King took Vic, Jovan, JM and myself up to pre-ride the course. We also hooked up with Team All Terra's Vince and his girlfriend Pam (on her first dirt ride). Jingo, Noel, Gigi and Pat caught up with us and pre-rode the course as well.

The route uses part of last year's course (Roxas trail), but extends into a section called Boy/Girl—a long, sketchy descent on loose soil, and passes behind the chapel via a section that has some steps cut into the dirt and some whoop-de-dos for good measure. After which is a longish grind uphill via a dirt road, back to the main trail of Maarat, then turns left to head back down to the Start/Finish area. Around 12km, but it's an intense and quite technical course. Vic, JM and myself did another loop of Roxas for good measure. Here's a Google Earth view of the trail. Details courtesy of Vic and King. Click to enlarge.



The race itself should be quite interesting, and we expect the first racers to come in at around 30 or 40 minutes. Hopefully all racers will be in before 11 (take off is estimated at 9 or 930am). The sun has been absolutely brutal the past week. We did have some rain Friday night, which helped moisten the trail, giving more traction to knobbies. Plus, they've graded the trails along Roxas, so the nasty ruts are gone. Darn. :-(

Hope to see you on race day!

Karlo Kam

Karlo finally unbusied himself and uploaded his pics. It was his first Tour and major kudos to him for riding the 50km (not counting his bike commute to and from his house), while lugging around his dSLR.

As you can see, it was well worth it:


More snaps in his multiply account.

More Firefly Footage

From Fara Manuel - No Bikes Allowed


From Fara Manuel @ McKinley Road

Studio 23 Newscentral

2007 Tour of the Fireflies

Well, last year was Spanky's first appearance at the Tour of the Fireflies - a critical mass ride to generate awareness for clean air and bike advocacy. 2006 saw a group numbering 5,000 taking over the streets of Metro Manila...back then I think it was Jay and myself who were the only singlespeeders in attendance (well, at least to my knowledge).

2007 saw no less than ten of us...myself, JM, King, Edmund, Matt, Michelle, Noel, Doy, Boyet, Elvin, Norman...am sure there were others out there! It was fun and I think the number of participants swelled to 6,000. Our route was sort of the opposite of last year's, from Tiendesitas to Makati to Pasay to Manila to QC and back the Tiendesitas...here are some snaps



We're camwhores! JM and myself SSing and snapping along McKinley Road, Forbes Park.


Slow down? We ain't slowing down for anybody today, mister! Bikes rule!


Rest stop along Ayala. Hmm...this is the opposite side of this pic from last year.


At the Stock Exchange. Buy low, sell high!


Second rest stop at Magsaysay Center, Roxas Blvd., Manila. Yes, that's Polly.


and now on to the Ayala Bridge in downtown Manila.


JM, Polly and Rina hanging on my shoulder...


Edmund of All Terra and Mark Ellis of Fitness First share management strategies.


We swung by Quiapo church!

Overall, this year's Tour felt like it was going at a faster pace, not sure why. Another thing, nobody was hooting and hollering a much as last year, where we had bells and whistles and stuff. I did bring a whistle and was tooting it, but I think I ended up annoying the riders next to me.

Well, next year is the 10th anniversary! Let's see what Ricky and co. have planned!

Thanks to Jed for this neat snap. More pics from his Flickr photostream here.

More photos here as well.

I'm sure Karlo has some nice photos too, if only he unbusied himself long enough to post em!

Dusty Friday

While everyone else in Manila was enjoying some drunken, hedonistic debauchery on a resort island (sinners!), we decided to hit up another trail system in the south. Off to Sta Rosa we went and it was a great way for Karlo to gain more experience (points) on varied terrain.


Housing/golf course development had turned what was once a dusty, dirt road climb is now a dustier, dirtier, steeper climb. They better compact the ground come rainy season, or else it's gonna be nasty. Here's Karlo conserving his energy for the rest of the ride.


Piña trail is always fun. Tight, twisty with roots and drops and stuff to surprise you. Here's Jay showing how it's done.


follow the leader, now it's JB's turn.


and Karlo...


and finally P.A. It's great to see him back on a bike!


Enjoying the shade. It's close to noon. Our tummies are grumbling!


The mandatory Duck trail shot. P.A. even tried Spanky out.

Another great ride, with great vibes all around.

Our next ride was in our old playground...Survival Trail! Details and report to follow...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPANKY!!!

Snazzy shots courtesy of Karlo.

A year ago today, my bike was finally built up and ready to ride. Since then, we've ridden countless trails, had a few scrapes, and went through a few upgrades.

Spanky rocked then, and rocks now, and will rock on!

Of course, what good is a birthday without a celebration. So today, Karlo, Jay and I decided to put in some Good Friday miles by hitting the trails at Sta Rosa. Karlo is an old-skool rider who is rediscovering mountain biking.

What better way to do that than on a 35km epic ride? Last week, I took him to Roxas trail in San Mateo, and yesterday as well.

Ride report and pics from all the recent rides soon!

Hole-y Thursday

We hit Maarat and Roxas trail for the second time in a week. This time we had Jay and Mikitang in tow.

Weather was lovely, with some fog and light drizzle to make things interesting. Maarat is notorious for its clay-like mud, and we hoped the drizzle won't turn into a monsoon.


We're in Marin County!


Tourists. The Philippines is a major tourist destination for Japanese, Koreans, and Taiwanese nationals.


Karlo's second time around, and you can tell he has more balls. I mean confidence.


Jay enjoying some ruts.


Karlo's first water crossing. Time to get your feet wet, land-lubber!

Arrrrrr.

April's Fools

I wasn't playing a pre-April Fool's Day joke on Karlo when I said we'd be hitting the trails yesterday. Knowing that he's had prior experience on a mountain bike, I decided to take him to Maarat - specifically Roxas trail, which is known for a few steep climbs and rutted descents. I advised him to take it easy, since it was is first time.


Here's Karlo, taking my advice to the letter!


Polly and his tricked-out Turner 5-Spot are always ready to ride.


Das me. spanking the monkey.


National Geographic shot care of Polly.


Here's Karlo in one of the gnarly downhill bits. He did pretty good. A lot of first timers walk down this section.


Carlo (with a C) enjoys the benefits of is full-sus Giant Anthem.


All dirty and all smiles!

Karlo needs a few more dirt rides under his belt. No problem, since it's Holy Week. I'll make sure he racks up some experience points!